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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · degree · racket · dip · mate · calf · cold · foot

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stock — shares
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mate — a partner
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mate — to breed
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mate — a friend
  14. degree — temperature
  15. foot — a measure
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cold — an illness
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com